Disclaimer: I Do not own Daily Life with Monster Girls. Warning: some adult language ahead.
Jack's lungs were burning, he pumped his legs along the corridor as fast as they would take him. As he rounded the corner he heard a scratching sound above him. Looking up revealed a massive figure with spear like appendages advancing toward him.
"Shit!" Jack dove through an open door just to his left and slammed it shut. He took a moment to breathe. He stopped when he heard a scuffling sound ahead of him in the dark room. Like leather sliding on wood.
Jack hunched down and tried to sidle along the wall as silently as he could. There had to be another way out.
He heard the scuffling again, closer this time. He tried to pick up his pace, feeling along the wall in the dim room.
"You can't get away..."
Jack seized up. The deep feminine voice seemed to come from right above him. The scratching sound emanated from the wall he was hugging. He scampered away from it. Out of the wall emerged spear like objects made out of pure shadow.
"Oh Fuck!" Jack turned and ran into the darkness.
"That's what we want dearest..."
The scuffling sound followed him, it was right behind him. He turned his head to look behind. Suddenly he was falling. He tumbled over and landed in something tough but stringy.
Jack's arms were held by some thin rope like substance. His struggling was useless. It was attached to his arms. Wherever he moved them, the substance just followed. In fact it grew over his arms, engulfing them.
"No no no no!" Jack tried to lunge forward, moving his whole body at once. The stringy substance held him back and grew over his torso.
Ahead of him the scratching and scuffling sounds drew closer. Two large silhouettes started to emerge from the field of crisscrossed string.
"Oh christ." He breathed
The silhouettes blurred into each other and fused into one large shadow. It had spears and claws and fangs.
Its face loomed right above him. Nine golden-red eyes stared at him with lust. Two mouths, one inside the other, bared their fangs. Some liquid dribbled out and landed on his exposed chest. It burned.
"Come on Jackey." The creature spoke in two voices. "Wanna have sssssssex?"
It lunged forward and struck. Jack screamed.
He found himself in an unfamiliar room. He was tangled up in bed sheets on the floor. Jack looked about trying to remember where he was. He sat up and placed his arm on the bed to his right.
"God damn it."
He looked around and spotted his phone's display on a charger stand on the floor. Its motion detection had activated and displayed the current time. It read 3:22.
Jack placed a hand on his head and closed his eyes briefly. "God dammit." He took a long breath and calmed his nerves. "Just a dream. Just a dream." He assured himself as he started to stand back up.
He untangled his legs from the sheets and blanket and tossed them in a pile on the bed. He knelt and retrieved his phone. He shook it twice and the flashlight on its backside lit up.
Jack looked around the room and still didn't know quite where he was. He crossed over to the drawn curtains over a window and parted them slightly. The house next door was barely lit by a street lamp but he could make out prominent details. The gray siding and paneled window across from his looked vaguely familiar. He adjusted his angle to see the street. Jack remembered waging a Nerf gun war with his brothers and neighbors over that particular patch of road ages ago.
"Right, I'm home." He said to himself. "Sula, Tetra. The Exchange."
Jack scowled. Smythe.
Jack let the curtain go and faced the rest of the room. It was pretty bare save for a dresser and the bed. "Ugh, can't sleep now." He was too wired and awake from fear.
He got dressed for the day and silently left the room. He used his phone's light to guide him to the extra wide stairs. Jack took his time descending them, trying to familiarize himself with his surroundings.
"Let's see. Across the landing is the living room and then the kitchen I think."
As he crossed to the other side Jack stopped in the middle. He looked up and around, trying to see any trace of his old house. There was none.
"You gave it away dummy. Get over it."
Despite his own advice Jack still felt a sense of loss. He was standing right where his family would open presents on Christmas. And yet he wasn't. Jack sighed and completed his journey down memory lane by entering the kitchen.
He flipped on the solitary bulb above the counter and shook his phone's light off. He retrieved a glass from the cupboard and quenched his dry mouth.
"You're up early."
"Jesus Fuck!" Jack's eyes widened and he dropped his cup of water. He whirled toward the voice.
Tetra stood halfway inside the kitchen, the light from above the counter only partially glinted off her smooth legs and arms. The rest of her arachne body was barely visible.
"Tetra you scared the shit outta me." Jack breathed.
She raised an eyebrow. "I've been standing here for at least ten seconds."
Jack put a hand over his beating chest. He took a moment to calm his breathing before speaking. "What are you doing up?"
"I heard a noise." She explained. "That was from you I presume."
Jack breathed out and lowered his gaze . "Yeah I, had a bad dream. Sorry I woke you."
Tetra stepped up to the small table and slid a stool underneath herself and crossed her clawed fingers. "Want to talk about it?"
"Not really. It's just a dream, it doesn't mean anyth-" Jack looked up. "Why are you naked?"
Tetra tilted her head a bit and a ghost of a smile crossed her lips. "I sleep in the nude."
Jack looked upward and away. "Can you, put something on?"
"No." She stated demurely.
Jack frowned and crossed over to the closet by the garage entrance. Tetra sighed as he retrieved the hoodie she wore earlier today. Jack turned around and held the jacket out in front of himself, blocking most of her body from view.
"Oh fine." Tetra took the jacket from Jack and slipped her arms through. "You humans and your hang-ups."
Jack looked back at her then looked away again. "You mind zipping up please." He asked testily.
Tetra smirked. "Could you help me with it? I'm not as coordinated when I haven't had a full eight hours."
Jack glared right at her, exposed flesh and all. "For christ'sake are you a child?" Tetra narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to rebut. Jack advanced and hooked the zipper into place and drew it all the way up to her neck. He held her gaze for a second before backing off.
"You don't have to get angry at me." She finally retorted.
Jack turned back toward the counter and tore off a couple sheets of paper towels. "I'm not in the mood for your 'games' Tetra." He folded them then started to mop up the spilled water from his cup.
"That doesn't excuse your bad attitude Jackey."
Jack shut his eyes and closed his hands into fists. He breathed in and out slowly, letting his rage dissipate with time. "I asked you not to call me that." He resumed cleaning up his mess.
"It's just a stupid nickname." She drilled. "Getting angry over it is childish."
"It was about you!" He bellowed. Tetra sat up straight.
"It was about you and Sula. And you were chasing me around the house. And I try to get away and I fall into a web or something, and then you both merged into some sort of supermonster and you say something about sex and then you kill me!"
Jack stared at her for a second more, trying to read her impassive inhuman face. He gave up and wiped up the last bits of water on the counter.
"You had a bad dream about me?"
Jack blinked and looked over at the source of the new voice. Sula slide into the light next to Tetra. She had on an over-sized pink t-shirt with prints of eggs of various shapes and sizes.
"Oh Sula, I'm sorry." Jack said apologetically. "I didn't mean to wake you too."
"It's alright," She replied. "We all seem to be having a bad night." She perked up. "But that's what families do. They share things good and bad."
Jack blinked and snorted at her statement. "I wouldn't exactly call us a family just yet." He eyed Tetra. "Not when this one can piss me off with one sentence."
Tetra nodded. "I shouldn't have prodded you like that." She admitted.
"Especially at three A-fucking-M in the morning." Jack bit back.
Both liminals glared at him.
"Sorry, sorry." Jack held up a hand and looked off to the side. "Dammit, that was stupid of me."
Both girls glanced at each other then back at their host.
Jack sighed heavily. "Look, I'm pretty wired right now. So how about I throw something in the crock pot for lunch later okay? And I'll make some more eggs and whatever else you girls want for breakfast in a few hours."
They glanced at each other again. "Extra meat for lunch." Sula stated.
Jack nodded. "Roast beef sound good?"
Sula nodded back "Hmm." She turned and left the kitchen.
Jack looked over at Tetra and waited. For what, he didn't know. Trying to read Tetra at the moment was like trying to get a brick wall to laugh. He shook his head and turned back to the counter. He pulled out the crock pot and plugged it in.
"You can't buy me off with food that easily." Tetra said.
Jack closed his eyes and formed fists behind his head. "Godzdammit Tetra!" He looked back at her. "What more do you want from me? I'm sorry."
She didn't change expression. She just stared at him.
"Do you want me to beg? Is that it? You want me to beg?"
Tetra still didn't react.
"Well to hell with that." Jack gritted his teeth. "I'm not gonna beg you for shit."
He got out his smartphone and slid it over the table near her. "You wanna leave? Fine. Give Smythe a call. I'm sure he'll appreciate a call from you at," Jack glanced at the oven clock. "three thirty-five in the morning."
He turned back to the counter and retrieved a cookbook. "Me and Sula and the rest of whoever Smythe decides to dump on me will be just fine without you."
Jack opened the freezer and pulled out the biggest roast he could find. "I'll even help you pack if you want." He closed the freezer and began collecting the rest of the tools and ingredients for the meal.
He stopped when the arachne got out the cutting board and a knife with an extra-wide handle and took them back to the table.
Jack glared at her. Something between confusion and indignation fought for his emotions. "What are you doing?"
"Helping you make lunch." She replied sweetly. Jack eyed her up and down. What the hell?
"Why?" He demanded.
She glanced back at him and winked three eyes. "You passed my test."
Jack rattled his head and closed his eyes. "Test?" He opened them up and glared at her again. "What test?"
"Something my mother taught me." She held out an arm. "Can you hand me the carrots?"
Jack kept an eye on her while he collected the vegetable she requested. "And what did she teach you?"
"A little test to weed out bigots, who just pretend not to be." She replied.
"Okay." Jack wasn't sure how he felt about her doing that to him. He placed the carrots on the table near her cutting board. "And how did I pass your test?"
Tetra smiled up at him. "You never once insulted me. You never called me a freak or some other slur. I pushed and goaded and antagonized you. But you never once called me a name."
Jack tried to recall the whole conversation they had tonight. "I called you a child."
She lowered her eyelids. "I was being childish."
Jack looked hard at her while she began chopping the carrots. "No offense, but your mother sounds like a bitch."
Tetra laughed harshly. "Oh, she was." She finished one carrot and reached for the next. She raised the tip of the knife at Jack and narrowed her eyes at him. "Just so you know. That is the last time you get to call my mother a 'bitch'."
Jack snorted. "Fair enough." He turned back to the stove and fired up one of the burners. He placed the beef onto an extra large pan and began to season it over the fire.
A stray memory entered his mind and Jack chuckled to himself. "'Even bad men love their momma's'."
Tetra looked up from her carrots. "What was that?"
Jack glanced back at her. "Oh, nothing, just a quote from a movie." He waved a hand dismissively.
She hummed. "Which movie?"
Jack glanced up in thought. "Um, Three Ten to Yuma." He glanced over at her. "Russel Crowe, Christian Bale." Tetra tilted her head at him expectantly. "Oh right, sorry, you're not a pop culture geek like me."
She nodded and focused back on her carrots. "What's it about?"
Jack rotated the beef to sear on another side. "It's a western made about, oh jeez, a decade ago now. A rancher volunteers to escort a dangerous criminal to a train station so he can be tried in court. Problem is that his gang tries to free him and they start picking off the sheriff and deputies the whole way there. I think it's a remake though. I never saw the original."
Tetra finished up the carrots and added them to the broth in the pot. "Does he make it? The criminal?"
Jack gave her a look. "You'll have to watch it to find out." His face went serious suddenly and he reached out for her hand. She didn't react at first when he grasped it. "Are we good?" He looked up at her face.
Tetra gave him a small smile. "Yeah Jack, we're good." She stated positively.
"Well I'm still kinda pissed at you." Jack countered and dropped his hand from her. He focused back on the roast.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry I did that to you. It was cruel and you didn't deserve it." She held her hand there and gave him a light squeeze. "But I had to know. I had to know you weren't just faking it."
Jack blinked and put down his utensils. He lowered the heat on the pan and turned to her. "What made you think I was faking it?"
She withdrew her hand. "You're a little, too accepting of my species." She located the celery clump with her other hand and stabbed her claws through one end of them. She placed it on her cutting board and set her other hand on the celery to brace it. When she withdrew her claws however, three stalks broke and hung off her fingers like over sized rings.
Jack pressed his lips together and suppressed a giggle. "Was... that supposed to intimidate me?"
"Yes." She admitted and raised her celery decorated hand. She furrowed her eyebrows, like she couldn't believe her own sight. She shook her head and closed her eyes briefly. "Like I said. I'm not fully coordinated if I don't get my sleep."
Jack reevaluated his housemate for a moment. "So you weren't just messing with me when you asked me to zip you up?"
She nodded and smirked lightly. "Not entirely." She removed the errant stalks and replaced them on the cutting board. She turned and jabbed a claw near his chest. "You will be silent about this little flub of mine. Agreed?"
Jack suppressed another laugh. "You should have left the celery on your fingers."
She narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Why?"
"For comedic effect." He dead-panned.
Tetra blinked a few times. Then she laughed. She closed her eyes and laughed a little harder. Jack closed his eyes and laughed with her. "Big bad spider-girl. Threatening me with her celery fingers."
Tetra shook her head then reached for the paper towels. She wiped off her fingers and made a comment. "You're a strange, funny man Jack."
He shrugged and turned back to the stove. "It runs in the family."
Tetra raised an eyebrow. "Your family is all comedians?"
"Small time entertainers." He corrected. "Each of us had a hobby or skill that is best utilized with a small audience."
The arachne raised her head and thought for a few moments. She gazed back at Jack and asked. "Like what?" Jack didn't say anything for a moment. "If it's not too painful for you to talk about." She added more soberly.
Jack pursed his lips and nodded. "I think it'll always be painful. But thanks for understanding." He took a big breathe and rotated the beef down to a frozen side. "My mom used to be a make-up and balloon artist for kids at carnivals."
"What's a balloon artist?" Tetra asked.
"Um... a balloon artist would partially fill a narrow balloon with air and twist sections of it into shapes that resembled animals like dogs, giraffes or mice." Jack explained.
Tetra blinked a few times. "I'm not seeing it."
Jack nodded. "Yeah, It's probably not easy for someone with hands like yours to get the concept at first."
Tetra frowned. "Hands like mine?"
Jack glanced at her. "You'd probably pop the balloon as soon as you touched them with your claws."
Tetra rolled her eyes. "Oh right." She squinted at him. "You don't think I could do it?"
Jack turned his head toward her and examined her hands critically. "Hmm you might be able to pull it off. If you were very very careful."
She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I was joking Jack."
He shrugged. "I wasn't" Jack turned toward the small table and retrieved his smartphone. He tapped on the Mamazon app and typed in the search bar. "I'll order us some. I can teach you the basics."
"You don't have to do that." She said ambivalently.
Jack ignored her and finished his order. "Too late. Already done." He nodded at her and resumed preparing the beef. "But enough about me. You were making a point before the celery rudely interrupted."
Tetra blinked and gathered up the celery and cutting board. "Such a strange man." She muttered as she set them at the table and began chopping. "Umm where was I?"
Jack finished with the beef and carefully placed it in the crock. "I believe I am 'too accepting of your species'." He placed the lid on top and turned back toward her. "Is that really so hard to believe?"
"What do you mean?" She asked.
Jack nodded his head side to side. "I mean, is it really so hard to believe that the Exchange would find you a host that doesn't regard arachne as freaks or inherently evil."
Tetra gazed at him a moment before she continued chopping the celery. "Not on my first try." He motioned his head at her curiously. "The day I met you-"
"You mean the day you saved my life." Jack interrupted with a grin.
Tetra snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're never gonna let me live that down are you?"
"Shoulda let me die." Jack shook his head mock-disappointingly and smiled.
Tetra's amused annoyance was evident as she glared at him. "The day I met you." She repeated insistently. "Was supposed to be the day I would be taken to a host."
Jack nodded. "Did you know who they were?"
Tetra shook her head. "No idea."
Jack furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait a minute. You mean they were going to assign you to somebody who had no idea they were going to host an arachne?"
Tetra tilted her head up in thought for a second. "Not necessarily. As I understand it, whomever was going to host me had remodeled their home recently and the homestay program concluded that it could accommodate some of the larger species." She placed a hand on her chest. "Such as myself. Craglin was supposed to give me more details about it on the way there when I was recalled for our interview."
"That's, huh." Jack rubbed his chin with a hand. "That seems really rushed and risky."
Tetra nodded. "The Exchange wasn't what I thought it was either." She smirked. "But I seem to have lucked out."
Jack closed his eyes and smiled lightly "Thanks for that." He opened his eyes and took on a more serious expression. "But if you feel that way, why did you think you needed to test me?"
Tetra stared ahead a few seconds. "Feeling something is not the same as knowing something." Jack nodded a couple times after a few seconds of mulling over her words.
"I felt that you were accepting of me as a person and an arachne after our interview." She elaborated. "But I didn't know until tonight."
Jack rubbed his chin again. "When you tested me." He sighed. "Your sense of timing is lousy."
The arachne chopped the last few celery stalks on her board. She placed down the knife and folded her arms. "Testing someone when their mental defenses are down is the perfect time to find out what sort of person they are." She rationalized. "Would I have gotten an honest answer if you were more ready for it?"
Jack faced Tetra directly. "Yes."
She blinked at him a few times. Neither of them said anything for a while.
Jack sighed and gathered the celery bits from the table. "But I understand." He looked into her eyes briefly. "It can't be easy trusting a human." He turned away and scraped the celery into the broth and covered it with the lid. "My species tend to react badly when they encounter the small harmless spiders. My mother would ask us boys to kill enough of them around the old house to qualify for a massacre." Jack shook his head. "Hell, my brother might still have arachnophobia."
One of Tetra's eyes twitched.
Jack placed a few potatoes and a peeler on the cutting board. "We tend to portray spiders as abominations or at least dangerously mysterious in our media. With a few exceptions of course." Jack shrugged and turned back toward the table. "How much worse has it been when we learned that there are real, live, seven foot tall ones possibly lurking in the dark?" He sat down at the table and began peeling a potato.
Tetra raised a hand. "Your missing the point." Jack snapped his head back up at her. "It's not about you being a human."
Jack looked down for a second then back up at her. "Then what?"
"Anyone can be bigoted against arachne." She pointed out. "We aren't irrationally hated by just humans."
Jack lowered his gaze again. He stared straight ahead pondering her statement. "Damn, I hadn't thought about that. It seems crazy and yet..." He glanced at her claws and fangs. "And yet, not at all." His shoulders sagged and he sighed.
He furrowed his eyes as another detail struck him. "Sula seems to not have any problem with you being an arachne."
Tetra shook her head. "She's just as dangerous to humans and some of the...let's say 'softer' liminals as I am." She glanced up in thought. "More dangerous than me in some ways." She looked back down at Jack. "We're 'in the same boat' as you humans say."
Tetra got up and retrieved her knife and a bowl. She returned to her stool and started chopping the potatoes that Jack peeled. "That's why it's somewhat unbelievable ,to both of us, that a human, any human, would be willing to host not one but two of the more dangerous Extra-species."
Jack nodded. "I'll admit that I never saw myself preparing a crock pot recipe alongside a seven foot tall spider at four in the morning anytime in my life." Tetra raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. "But I was a huge fantasy and sci-fi geek as a kid. I told you that I read comics with my brothers." The arachne nodded. "When the governments of the world started announcing the existence of liminals and officially introducing them into human society, it was like all those old myths and legends and other crazy stories come to life."
Jack smiled. "I felt like a kid the first time I saw a harpy fly over head. I ran up to an elf on the street once and shook her hand. And I already told you about Talbot at my old job." Tetra nodded. "Being able to have conversations with a liminal was really cool."
"So when Smythe offered me this position I couldn't believe it." Jack said. "I still don't fully believe it."
"Your subconscious seems to have an issue with it too." Tetra uttered.
Jack blinked and shook his head at her non-sequitur. "I don't... what? What are you talking about?"
Tetra put down her knife and looked at Jack directly. "Your nightmare. It was about Sula and myself."
Jack opened his mouth to deny but Tetra's confident tone made him rethink his words. He put down his own utensil and sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled at you about that. I don't know where that came from."
"Yes, you do." Tetra countered. "Just think about it."
Jack blinked a few times. "I don't know what you're getting at."
Tetra leaned in toward Jack. "You said that Sula and me chased you around the house and killed you."
Jack looked down ashamedly. "Yeah I...yeah."
"You also said something about sex." Jack looked away from her. "I think your subconscious is trying to tell you a couple things." She suggested.
She tapped her claws on the table loudly. "First lets deal with the 'sex' part."
Jack looked back up at her incredulously. How can she be so casual about this?
"I'll admit that I'm probably responsible for that particular aspect of your nightmare." She stated.
Jack closed his eyes and nodded in agreement. "Yeah you uh...didn't have to be that detailed about your previous...encounters with lamias."
She smirked. "Good times are meant to be shared." Jack kept his eyes closed and shook his head. Tetra took on a more serious tone. "But it has clearly upset you. And for that I apologize."
Jack nodded a few times. "Smythe warned me that arachne like to push boundaries." He opened his eyes and focused on hers. "But please, don't push on this one."
She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "Is that a request?"
Jack frowned.
"Because you know you have to give me something in return." She reminded him.
He held her gaze for a few moments. "What do you want?"
She slid the bowl of chopped potatoes over the table toward him. "I want you to add this to the pot and clean the bowl for me."
Jack blinked. "That's it?" Tetra nodded.
Jack looked at her askance for second then stood up and took the bowl. He fulfilled her task and set the now clean bowl back in the cupboard. He returned to the table and sat back down. "That's it then?" Tetra closed her eyes and nodded.
Jack took a big breath and let it out. "Thank you Tetra." He paused a beat. "Look I don't mean to be a prude." He said. "But I'd rather not talk flippantly about subjects that could land me in jail."
Tetra raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried that something will happen?"
Jack shook his head. "I'm worried about the consequences. If I'm in jail then I can't be a host. I'm supposed to look after four more liminals." He swallowed. "So if I'm not here, then what happens to them? What happens to you and Sula? Does Smythe just find someone else and replace me? And if he can't, where would you all go?"
Tetra nodded slowly then smiled. "Alright Jack. I understand. You really want this to work. For all of us."
He nodded confidently. "Yes."
"Therefore, you don't want to indulge in any risky behavior." She concluded.
He nodded again. "Not if I can help it."
She folded her arms. "Alright. Then if I can amend our agreement? I'd like to be able to joke and tease." Jack frowned at her. She raised a finger. "Under the strict understanding that that's all there is to it. No ulterior meanings or euphemisms. Just harmless words."
Jack eyed her. "Words can be harmful." He waited a second to let that point settle. "But I do want you to be comfortable here."
He sighed. "Look I'll tell a dirty joke with my old friends and they'll probably come up with a better one. But I'd rather not expose the representatives of several species to stupid immature tripe. I am supposed to be representing humanity here. Not cavorting around like a moron."
Tetra chuckled. "I think your doing a fine job as host. Aside from waking us up in the middle of the night."
Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "I already apologized for that."
Tetra nodded. "Forgiven. But that brings us back to the reason you woke up in the first place."
Jack glanced down pensively.
Tetra tapped her claws on the table. "Jack look at me." He did slowly. Tetra held his gaze a second or two. "I want you to listen very closely." Jack nodded lightly without breaking eye contact.
"It's okay to admit that you're afraid."
Jack stared ahead, his eyes unfocused. He couldn't answer her. He wouldn't deny it to her face. But he also didn't quite have the strength to say it either.
"Take your time Jack." Tetra got up and gathered the rest of the dirty utensils. "But don't disappoint me."
Jack looked at her face for a second. There was something expectant and dangerous behind her eyes. The message was clear: 'Don't lie to me.'
The arachne left the table and added the dirty dishes to the sink. She tapped her claws in sequence on the counter. "Let me ask you something Jack."
The young man started, not expecting another question from her. He turned around in his seat enough to see her. She had her abdomen to him, she was still facing the counter.
"Were you afraid of Talbot the first day you met him?"
Jack looked down and nodded a few times.
Tetra kept her back to him. "Please say it."
Jack pressed his lips together and blinked a few times. "Yes."
Tetra tapped her claws on the counter. "Are you afraid of him now?"
Jack rotated his head back up at her. Then he looked up in thought. "No. Not really."
"Why?" She asked.
Jack gave a weak smile. "Because I trust him." The arachne pivoted slowly back to face him.
Tetra kept her face neutral. "So Jack. Are you afraid of me?"
Jack chuckled. "I told that girl, Chloe, that my dad taught me not to be afraid." He shook his head. "That's ludicrous. How can someone be taught that? To never fear anything?" He nodded his head and stood up. "Yes Tetra. I am afraid."
He faced her directly. "But I am willing to trust."
The arachne closed her eyes and smiled. She breathed out heavily a couple of times. "Thank you Jack. For being honest with me."
Jack glanced at the floor for a few seconds then back up at her. "It's always like this, isn't it? For your people?"
The arachne sighed and shrugged. "For the most part. But it's nothing we can't handle. Our mothers teach us to be big girls about it."
Jack nodded. "And your fathers'? What do they teach you?" When Tetra didn't answer for a solid ten seconds he looked at her concernedly. She was still. Almost not even breathing. "Tetra? You alright?"
She didn't seem to hear him. He took a step toward her. "Tetra." He repeated.
"I" Tetra squeaked weakly. She shook her head and swallowed. "I never knew my father."
Jack's brain took a few seconds to process her admission. Then he sat back down on his chair. "Damn..."
Jack stared at the floor. "And here I was. Whining about losing my own parents. When you never..."
Tetra stepped up to Jack and raised a knuckle under his chin. "It's not a competition." She looked straight into his eyes. "And I don't need your pity."
"I wasn't-" Jack started.
Tetra tapped his cheek with her thumb. "You were." She smiled lightly and withdrew her hand. "But that's 'cause you care."
Jack sat there silently for a few moments. He took a deep breath. "Want to talk about it?"
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not tonight." She opened her eyes and smiled lightly again. "But thanks for asking."
"Good." Jack nodded. "Cause I'm kinda sick of heavy subjects right now."
Tetra snorted and looked at him oddly. "You asked."
He nodded back. "I know but how about we do something a bit more fun." He pointed toward the crock pot. "We're done preparing for lunch so how about we watch that movie I mentioned?"
Tetra gave a small smile. "Why not."
"Good." Jack got out of his chair and fired up his Xbox in the living room. He located the case for 3:10 to Yuma in his collection and slid the disc into the console. He gathered up the remote and a controller and joined Tetra on the couch.
About halfway through the film Jack's eyelids grew heavy. "Okay Tetra, I'm really sorry, but I'm kinda crashing here."
She quickly glanced over at him then back to the movie, not wanting to miss a moment. "Crashing?"
"Yeah, you kinda put my emotions through the ringer and I'm missing at least three hours sleep." Tetra tilted her head down at him with a bemused expression. "So if I start snoring, just, you know, murder me."
Tetra looked at him disbelievingly. "Murder you?"
"Rude to...fall asleep...during a …." Jack's eyes closed and stayed there.
Tetra giggled at the strange man that had become her host. She finished watching the film and then retrieved a blanket from a side closet and covered him in it. She gave him a light kiss on his forehead. "Thank you for putting up with me, my friend."
She returned to the kitchen and set the oven's alarm to go off when the roast beef should be done. Then she spun a hammock in the corner of the living room for herself. She laid herself on it and looked over at Jack. "Sleep well."
A/N: Thank you for reading. Bit of a longer chapter that usual, but this I felt this particular part needed the extra length.
Also a warning that I probably won't be posting as often as I have been. Insert 'life's a bitch' excuse here.
At any rate please comment and review.
